The Religious Roots of the Syrian Conflict: The Remaking of the Fertile Crescent (Twenty-first Century Perspectives on War, Peace, and Human Conflict) - Softcover

Tomass, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1349708860 ISBN 13: 9781349708864

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016

Synopsis

Explores the historical origins of Syria's religious sects and their dominance of the Syrian social scene. It identifies their distinct beliefs and relates how the actions of the religious authorities and political entrepreneurs acting on behalf of their sects expose them to sectarian violence, culminating in the dissolution of the nation-state.

About this title

About the Author

Mark Tomass is Adjunct Professor at Harvard University Extension School, USA. His research focuses on civil conflict in the Middle East, organized crime, and monetary and credit crises. His writing draws from his experience as a native of Syria and from living through the Lebanese Civil War of 1975-90 and the Muslim Brothers' Revolt of 1976-82.

From the Back Cover

Exploring both the historical origins of Syria's religious sects and their present-day dominance of the Syrian social scene, this book identifies these groups' distinct beliefs and relates how the actions of the religious authorities and political entrepreneurs acting on behalf of their particular sects expose them to sectarian violence, culminating in the dissolution of the nation-state. The author employs ethnographic accounts used in anthropology and conceptual tools based in economics to describe the formation of sectarian groups, a multidisciplinary approach which details how the sects have consistently generated civil conflicts within the Fertile Crescent, both before and after the formation of the nation-states of Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria.

Edition details

• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1349708860
• ISBN 13: 9781349708864
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 294